Situation Report Update

Asia Tsunami — Indonesia

Situation

the disaster are likely to remain in camps longer than expected, since they lost everything in the disaster.

Humanitarian access to Indonesia's Aceh province remains difficult, as some areas are still not accessible by land. Transportation remains a problem, with relief items that have been airlifted to the capital of Sumatra, Medan, clogging airports. Communication access is also limited. Urgent needs include clean drinking water, medical assistance and psychosocial care.

The official death toll for Indonesia is 94,000, but is expected to rise as remote outlying villages are reached. Many people are still missing, and fears are that large numbers of people will succumb to communicable, but preventable diseases.

Response

Areas to which the PDA and ACT members are responding, and will continue to respond, are Lokseumawe and Banda Aceh in Aceh Province and Nias Island. The response has included doing assessments, while at the same time providing relief items, including medicine. YEU is particularly well placed, as it has mobile health clinics that have been able to respond rapidly.

General coordination has also happened with other NGOs (local and international). YTB in particular is responding through the local PGI churches (Communion of Churches in Indonesia) in the region and is coordinating their response with local networks such as WAHLI (41 local NGOs) and the Coalition of NGOs.

A meeting held Monday, January 4 has determined that a regional ACT Coordinating Office will be set up in Aceh, with CWS, YTB and YEU representatives staffing the office. The office will be a base from which information related to the ACT members' response will be shared, along with logistics, warehousing, administration and expertise.

Urgent needs

YTB reported that it would focus on women-headed households, as well as attending to specific needs of women. YTB will also select more women volunteers to assist with the relief operations. The organization will increase its effort to lobby the government to ensure that it provides housing materials and other basic needs to its citizens.

Health services are also urgently needed - medicine and medical personnel. Other needs include safe drinking water, rice, cooking equipment, eating utensils, and clothing for women and children.

ACT members

The ACT implementing members responding to the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Indonesia are

• YTB — Communion of Churches in Indonesia/Yayasan Tanggul Benkana
• YEU — CD Bethesda/YAKKUM Emergency Unit
• CWS — Church World Service (Indonesia), with in-country support from:
• HEKS (Switzerland)
• Diakonisches Werk (Germany)
• NCA — Norwegian Church Aid
• ACT Netherlands